Standby, Action, Rescue
Story by Sandra Toh
Pictures by Chua Soon Lye
Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, the
Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) 125 Squadron, which
operates the Super Puma helicopters for Search and Rescue (SAR)
missions, is on standby to respond to calls for aero-medical
evacuation. PIONEER visits the SAR crew at 125 Squadronand combs
for the challenges behind what they do.
It is five o'clock in the morning and Sembawang Air Base is quiet
with little movement. Just when one expects dawn to be heralded
without much fanfare, the serenity is suddenly pierced by the
high-pitched blaring of an emergency siren. Immediately, loud
shuffles fill the corridor of 125 Squadron as two pilots and two
aircrew dash out to the airfield. In minutes, the four men are
onboard a red-and-white Super Puma helicopter, all ready to fly.
Their mission: to search for, and evacuate, a critically injured
seaman out in the South China Sea.
Scramble time
Everything must simply happen automatically upon a SAR activation.
Speak to any member of the SAR crew, and he or she will tell you
that every minute matters when it comes to rescuing lives.
Pilot CPT John Lim (above) says: "The moment the siren goes off,
there will be a scramble, where we rush to kit ourselves up, run to
the aircraft and take off. This whole process should not take more
than 15 minutes."
"To save time, we make meticulous preparations routinely," he adds.
"We ensure that the helicopter has been pre-flighted, all equipment
are in good working order and the crew are mentally prepared to
respond at a moment's notice."
The medical personnel on standby along with the rest of the crew
have to be similarly rapid in response. Senior Medic 2SG Patrick
Low says: "During a scramble, we race to the treatment room where
the ambulance is, load our equipment and drive to the airfield.
Time is precious -a one-minute difference can decide whether the
casualty survives or not."
On the standards that he has set for his men, Commanding Officer
LTC Calvin Ng says: "We have a very structured and robust training
programme in place for our pilots and aircrew, and every crew on
duty must be able to respond to any emergencies within 15
minutes."
"It is critical that every SAR mission is carried out swiftly,
safely and professionally, because
we want to maintain Singapore's prominent position as an
international sea and air terminal,"
explains LTC Ng.
Finding surprises
For Medical Officer CPT (Dr) Lee King Chien, performing a SAR
operation is like "unwrapping a present".
"The information we get at the point of activation is usually very
minimal," says CPT (Dr) Lee. "We can
be told to pick up a guy with fever without knowing his age and the
severity of his condition, and this really tests your ability to
manage the case on the spot."
Having been involved in a number of SAR missions has taught CPT
Lim, in his own words, "to expect anything"."A SAR mission is very
dynamic," says CPT Lim. "For example, when you are told to pick up
a casualty from a tanker, you expect to land on it since it's a big
ship. But this is not always the case as some of them are filled
with containers. In such cases, you have to consider other means to
evacuate the casualty, like winching."
"The change in weather conditions poses a challenge too," he adds.
"If we are out at the South China Sea on a rainy night, even
identifying the correct vessel is going to be tedious."
CPT Lim has certainly had his share of 'surprises'. "It was a
rescue mission for a seaman who lost his arm after a container fell
on him," says CPT Lim, as he recalls his first SAR operation. "When
we got there, we realised that there was no landing area on the
ship for us. That was the first surprise."
"After deciding to winch the casualty up, we found that
communication between the ship and the aircraft could not be
established," he continues, adding that the area for winching was
finally agreed upon after exchanging hand signals.
What he was least prepared for however, he reveals, was the
somewhat disconcerting scene he had to face. "Not only did we have
to pick the casualty up, we had to bring his arm, contained in an
ice-box, up as well. The man was bleeding so profusely that the
smell of fresh blood filled the entire cabin and the cockpit. That
put me slightly off."
But being the professional he was, the pilot quickly overcame the
discomfort he felt. "Knowing that the casualty depended solely on
me for help, I regained my composure and managed to send the
casualty to the hospital on time," says CPT Lim.
Ups and downs
The helicopters used for SAR operations are typically fitted with a
retractable steel cable hoist with a 600-pound lift capacity. This
allows the SAR crew to perform winching while hovering over open
seas, mountains or other terrain that are not suitable for
landing.
The winchman is the one who is lowered to the casualty for a quick
extraction. While his job appears simple enough for anyone who
doesn't have a phobia for heights, it is actually a complicated
process that requires the co-ordination of several members.
"Teamwork is the key to successful winching," quips Aircrew
Instructor SSG Rajesh Saraj (left)). "When the winchman is down the
line, the winch operator who guides the cable has to give the pilot
a running commentary since the latter is not able to see what's
going on behind him. This is to avoid accidents that might happen
due to close contact with tall trees."
As turbulence from the helicopter's rotor may cause the cable to
spin, the winchman and winch operator have to work hand in glove to
prevent swings or oscillations. "The winchman and winch operator
are always communicating through hand signals," says SSG Saraj.
"When the winchman indicates that the height should be maintained
or that he should be lowered down to make adjustments, the winch
operator has to understand immediately what he's trying to express
and do it."
Besides having nerves of steel, stamina and strength are necessary
criteria that every winchman must fulfil. Winching up a casualty
sometimes involves a lot of running.
"There was once when we were activated to rescue a casualty from an
aircraft crash on an offshore island," relates SSG Saraj. "As the
area was very forested, we couldn't winch the casualty up
immediately as we didn't want to risk having branches fall on him.
So the winchman had to carry the casualty to an open area more that
one kilometre away for us to do the rescue."
